14. Conclusion

Everything comes at a price, so here is the total bill for my HTPC.

Part	Price at the time	Purchase date
Silverstone SST-LC16B-M HTPC Computer Case	$269.99	11/1/2005
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard	$80.99	11/1/2005
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor	$234.00	11/1/2005
Zalman CNPS7000B-CU 92mm 2 Ball Copper Cooling Fan/Heatsink	$43.99	11/1/2005
2X 512 GB (1 GB) PC3200 Corsair Value Select RAM	$75.00	11/1/2005
Asus Radeon X550 GE Video Card	$86.75	11/1/2005
NEC ND-2510A 8X DVD±R DVD Burner Black	$40.00	11/1/2005
WD Caviar WD1600JB 160 GB hard drive	$220(Qty 2)	2/20/2004
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1 Channel PCI Sound Card	$91.00	11/1/2005
ZALMAN ZM300B-APS ATX 300W Power Supply	$56.00	11/1/2005
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 MCE Dual SD TV Tuner	$138.00	11/1/2005
ATI HDTV Wonder High Definition TV tuner	$127.91	11/1/2005
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Infrared Remote Control	$36.95	11/1/2005
Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005	$117.00	11/1/2005
Link Depot DVI to HDMI Cable	$24.99	11/1/2006
TOTAL	$1642.57

I have six months under my belt with this particular HTPC and I can confidently say that I am finally happy. Sure I'll upgrade eventually, but this time it won't be because of a catastrophically-flawed design or a piece of hardware that I just can't live with. I spent weeks doing research for this build, weighing my options and imagining different configurations before I ever pulled out my credit card. It was a long process, but I'm very glad that I did my homework because now I'm enjoying the benefits.

While my HTPC is perfect for me, it might be not be ideal for you and that's the beauty of this type of PC build. The choices I made are not universally the best choices. Maybe you are willing to deal with a little noise as long as your HTPC can play high-end games. Maybe you want to transport your HTPC between two locations so you select a non-traditional looking case to facilitate portability. Maybe you want to build a back-end media server and you don't care if it's loud or ugly because it's in a closet somewhere. Maybe you're looking for a more budget friendly solution. There are infinite variables and no perfect solution. Fortunately, HTPCs are versatile enough to be built to accommodate anyone's personal needs. And however they are configured, they can be a seriously impressive addition to any type of home theater.

Lessons learned:

Foot-in-the-grave silence is not really that pivotal to a nice quiet build. I think it's far more realistic to build a machine that you can take a few steps away from and be comfortable with than to try to build a completely passively cooled monster; Spending a little extra on the look of the HTPC may be painful as you dig deep into your pockets, but you'll find that you won't regret the decision. Being free from regrets is worth a few extra bucks; Passive cooling should be applied wherever it is feasible without sacrificing design or power. My general rule is to try to find passively-cooled parts for everything that uses a fan that is smaller than 80 mm. Also try to use the minimum amount of case fans possible. Test your system to see how many fans that you can live without. I got away with two case fans on my build and my temperatures are great. Take some time to make sure that all of your wiring is out of the way. It doesn't have to look perfect, but the more empty space that you can create the easier it is to circulate the air in the case. Be careful with Microsoft OEM software. The rules on what you can do with your hardware once it is installed are restrictive. Make sure that you have everything the way you want it before installing software like Windows XP MCE (MCE is only available as an OEM purchase). Finding a balance between features is more important than using the most powerful equipment.

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